Apr 2, 2014 9:06 AM

I found this rock, possibly a fossil, on the beach in Kent and wondered if anyone could give it an ID? Somebody who does quite a bit of beachcombing has said it looks like part of a tooth to them, but it is larger than other ones they have seen before. It definitely feels like rock.....It'd be great if you could give me any information you might have!

Hi, I have had this identified by the museum local to where it was found now and they have said:

It comes from Auroch (Bos primigenius). Bones of this prehistoric ancestor of domestic cattle from around 5000 years ago are well known from around the area and there is a skull cap and horns on display at the Heritage Museum.

Whether it is a fossil is open to opinion. Such things are often known as â&#128;&#152;subfossilsâ&#128;&#153; as they are at least on the way to becoming fossils. Normally we think of things that are fossils as those which have been mineralised/turned to rock but this is not always the case.

We find these artifacts on the Holderness coast, they are well worth collecting because they tell a story.

We call them recent fossils.

I hope it's ok as i have attached some images of a skull I found on the Holderness coast a few years ago, I think it was part of a skeleton that when R.C.D was found to be 1000yo and the peat it was preserved in was 2000yo.